Disclaimer: As they say, I do not own anything that is of Fruits Basket and of course, I'm not earning any profit from this either. I take no credit for the creations of Furuba.

A Pledge of Onigiri – Chapter Five – By Cherry Chibi

Tohru's POV

Fire, water or earth,

Kindnesses are all unique

But they all mean good

- - - -

I was really happy Mum… I couldn't believe that just after a day, the Sohma family had washed away my frown and made me smile again. It was so sudden too. I'm only new to their household and I'm still learning about them but I feel as though this is where I can belong. Also, when Kyo told me that you met him when he was a little kid, I felt so excited. So that was how you received the special necklace? It's such a coincidence too Mum… Because, Kyo also gave me one.

 "Tohru-kun!!! Why don't you wear that dress to the party?" Momiji said to me as he held my wrist. I just looked at him with confusion. What party? Now that I think about it, how did Momiji know my name when he met me for the first time the other night? Mum, is there something that I don't know that I should? "You're so silly Tohru-kun!" Momiji laughed, "You're welcoming party!"

 "What…?! No… I can't possibly… I-I…" A party for me? It felt so sudden and was way too good. I didn't want to trouble anyone just so that they could throw a party for me, Mum. Even though I was rambling on and on about how I didn't need one and that there were many other things that we could do, inside I was really surprised and happy for how kind the Sohma family were being to me. They accepted me into their home and now…

 "Don't be silly Tohru-kun! We have to throw you a party!" Momiji said as he jumped around with a cheerful smile, "Can we have a party for Tohru-kun, Shii-chan?" He pleaded and pleaded. Somehow, he was cute. I smiled as I remembered my conversation with Kyo last night.

Do you remember how you told me about the Zodiac Legend when I was little, Mum? You used to tell it to me as a bedtime story and remember how the first time I heard it, I cried and said that I wanted to be a cat instead of a dog? It just so happens that the Sohma family is possessed by their vengeful spirits and Kyo is the cat! When I realised, I was so excited! Meeting the cat for real… well, just like how Kyo turns into the cat, Momiji turns into the rabbit. Who could be the others? Was Shigure or Yuki part of it as well?

Eventually, Shigure agreed to the party idea but the condition was that we would all go out to eat since I shouldn't have to cook for my own party that someone else was giving me. He was being so considerate. Yuki and Kyo also agreed to the idea which made me even happier. As long as everyone is happy then I guess I would be alright with it.

 "I should change out of this… I wouldn't want to ruin it…" I said cheerfully, "Also, I need to make breakfast!" I didn't want to waste anymore time, so I ran upstairs to quickly change. They must've been hungry, since they hadn't had anything to eat. When I came back down to the kitchen, everyone had settled but there was a strange aura. Did I do something wrong? I walked in hesitantly, don't know why, but I felt out of place for that short period of time.

I was grateful when Momiji jumped to his feet and dragged me into the kitchen to make breakfast. "What are we making Tohru-kun?" He asked with a vibrant expression on his face, "I'm hungry!!!"

- - - -

 "Honda-san?"

I stopped hanging the laundry and greeted Yuki with a smile. "Hello Sohma-kun! What is it?" The seriousness in his eyes startled me a bit. There was a long silence and my nerves kind of got worked up.

 "You found out about the family secret… and because of that, Shigure had to go and talk with Akito, the head of the family. You might have to get your memories erased." He sounded as though he regretted saying them. I thought for a moment, I knew that it must've been really important to keep the secret safe and so they had to take measures.

I didn't mind. As long as in the end everyone was happy. I mean… It would be sad for me to forget about their kindness but I guess I would live with it. "It's alright Sohma-kun! As long as your family is happy then there's nothing you should be worried about!" I smiled brightly with assurance. Mum… if it did come to that, I would be alright wouldn't I? "Even if my memories are erased… I still want us to be friends. Promise Sohma-kun?"

Yuki's eyes had widened a bit. After a moment, he finally smiled. "Promise."

Everything felt comfortable after that; you could say that it was 'back to normal'. I had free time after this too, and I thought of what I should do. Then an idea sparked. Mum, remember how earlier Momiji gave me the beautiful dress? I hope that Momiji wouldn't mind… but I think I will make a little adjustment to it.

Soon after finishing the laundry, I was in my room. Needle and golden thread in one had and the soft silky material in the other. It was going to take a while but I was determined to get it ready before the party. I hope that this would make Kyo happy…

Suddenly, thinking about him made me blush. I felt so embarrassed for some reason that I accidentally pricked myself with the sewing needle. "Ow!" In reaction, I quickly withdrew my hand and sucked onto my fingertip. The sharp pain eased after a few moments. How clumsy of me! But it was a good thing that I didn't mess up the embroidery.

An hour later, there was a knock on the door. It was a hard strong knock and I was able to guess who it was. "Yes?!" I waited for the reply.

 "Tohru, what's taking you so long in there?" Kyo's voice queried. It was a calm, relaxed tone.

 "Oh! I'm just busy fixing something!" I replied. On my watch, I saw the time and realised that soon it was time to leave for the party! "I-I'll be ready really soon!" I quickly finished up the final stitches and made the last couple of touch ups for its completion. "There…" I admired my work for a bit. It wasn't too bad… I'd say it was sort of… cute. Maybe it was because it was a cat that it was cute.

 "Alright." I heard Kyo say. After a moment he continued, "I'll wait out here then."

Seeing that he was going to wait, I didn't want to keep him out there by himself too long so I changed into the dress. I did up my hair into a braid. "Ok! I'm…" I slid open the shouji door and stepped out…

- - - - Kyo's POV - - - -

 "Ready!" She appeared finally. All prepared for the departure. I stared at her, feeling the heat dancing on my cheeks again. My attention soon drawn to the new edition to her dress. A golden stitched cat was positioned on her right shoulder. Earlier when she said that there wasn't a cat… she must really have been sad about it or something because she did spend an hour in her room. I didn't want to admit it, but I had been worried. She must've seen me take notice of her work as well because she gestured to the embroidery. "Do you like it?" Her bright smile just made me even more uncomfortable.

 "It's…"

 "WOW!!! Look Kyo!!!" That brat suddenly appeared out of nowhere. "Tohru-kun put a cat on it…" Momiji took a good look at it and then stepped back, "You look really cute Tohru!!!" I felt extremely agitated by the fact that Momiji had popped out of nowhere and disturbed the conversation.

Tohru was smiling as always. "You really think so?"

 "Of course! Don't you think so Kyo?" Momiji suddenly darted the question at me and I merely gawked. How am I supposed to say outright that she looked cute?! It's not like me to say something like that…

 "Yeah." Did I just say that?

 "…Really Kyo-kun…?" Tohru had turned several shades of red and was, once again, getting all hyped up. "Um… ah… I…" I turned my glance to another direction. The last thing I needed right now is to have the little runt picking up the fact that I was a bit flushed in the face.

 "See Tohru-kun?! He loves you too!" Momiji said out loud with no sign of hesitation. I felt my face turn red. THAT LITTLE RUNT! Before I could retaliate one bit, Momiji had already taken Tohru's hand and was leading her back downstairs so that we could leave. She too was red in the face.

At that moment I pondered that maybe she too would feel… I shook my head. The only reason she looked like that was because she was embarrassed! Saying that someone loves you is just… grr… How can I word that?!

- - - -

The walk to the café was a noisy one. I guess that it was also partially my fault too since I hadn't resisted in arguing with the rat. Momiji however, had been paying his full attention to Tohru and Shigure… well, he tagged along and made his interjections now and then. Momiji had been planning to take Tohru to a restaurant or something like that but she didn't want us to spend too much and Shigure said that we'd probably make too much noise anyway so it gradually nailed down to some café.

Not that I really cared anyway.

 "Tohru-kun… I hope that you don't mind going to the café… Shii-chan is so mean! We should be taking you to a big restaurant…" Momiji whined. I felt my teeth grind together. Why did that brat always have to bother Tohru? He's barely met her for less than a couple of days and already he's smothering her with all his insolent questions and comments… a pang struck me. Why did I care?!

 "It's alright Momiji-kun! I'm glad that I'm even able to have a party with everyone!" Tohru said with a wide smile on her face, "Don't you think so Momiji-kun?"

A smile brightened Momiji's face and he nodded with agreement. "You're so cute Tohru-kun!" Instantly, I knew what he was going to do and sandwiched his head between my fists.

 "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" I yelled out loud at him. Immediately he had started whining again, just like the other night. It really pissed me off.

 "KYO-KUN'S HURTING ME!!!!"

 "You're in a public place you moron!" I shouted at the rabbit. He squirmed in my grip like a worm. Yuki looked like he agreed with me for once… slightly and Shigure was being neutral. However, I couldn't read what Tohru was feeling.

 "But I wanna hug Tohru-kun!!!" Momiji shouted louder.

I was thankful that there weren't many people out on the streets because this would've drawn a lot of unwanted attention. Somehow, the brat slipped out of my grip and wiped a couple of pathetic tears from the corner of his eyes. He glared weakly at me and said something in German before saying, "Kyo-kun probably loves Tohru-kun!!" For some reason, that had silenced the whole group. I didn't know why Yuki and Shigure looked stunned but I could understand that Tohru was once again embarrassed.

 "You little…" The words slowly seethed between my locked jaws. Who was he to think that he could say something like that?!

Momiji finally took note of what he said and he surprisingly withdrew himself. "Ah…" The silence was getting unbearable. Why were the dog and rat so stunned by that stupid sentence? Why did the rabbit suddenly act differently?

 "I feel like some ice-cream! Shall we get some?" Tohru's voice sliced through like a cheerful melody breaking a trance that we had fallen into. "Let's go! I'm sure that Kyo-kun, Sohma-kun, Momiji-kun and Shigure-san wouldn't want to stay outside for too long!" Suddenly, she took my hand and with a tug she was soon pulling me along. Momiji was holding her other hand.

The silence still carried through but it wasn't as uncomfortable as before. Today, I realised that there was clearly something being kept from me. The way that Yuki, Shigure and Momiji acted for those short moments were proof that something was being hidden. I had to find out. What was it that made Momiji's intended 'teasing' so serious?

- - - -

Linear Notes

In this fic, you all probably noticed that I'm using the Japanese honorifics for the characters' names. So… just so that those of you who don't know would understand better, I'll list them here (I'll also list extra stuff so it might help when you read other fics).

-san:  This would be equivalent to 'Miss' or 'Mrs.' or 'Mr.'. People who are younger would often say this after the name of a senior or such. So, Tohru would call Shigure, 'Shigure-san'. However, they could also use it for people who are their age as well. This one is one of the more common ones used.

-kun:  This would usually be put after a boy's name and would often be used to call someone who is either a friend your age or someone younger. So, why do they call Tohru with a kun? It is because Tohru is usually a boy's name.

-chan:  This would usually be put after a person's name to show that they're really close, or you put chan after a nickname. Sometimes, it could also mean 'little'. It's more commonly used by girls but guys would also use it.

-sama:  This would be put after the name of someone who is a superior. Um… this would kind of be an equivalent to 'Lord' or 'Lady' or even 'Master'.

-dono:  This would be a more polite version of 'Miss'. It has also been used after the name of a landlady.

Ok, so some extra stuff…

Onigiri:  rice ball (Heh… if you didn't know that… WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!)

Umeboshi:  Pickled plum. Often used in onigiri recipes… I'm not sure what else they use it in.

Sensei:  This would be 'teacher'… but also, when someone is a master artist of some form, they would be called sensei as well. Like in the manga, Haru calls Shigure 'sensei'.

I think this would be enough for now.

Thank you everyone for your support! I appreciate it lots and lots and lots!!! Hope to see you all again next time! Ja ne!

Cherry Chibi.